Massaging apparatus



Sept. 7, 1948. w CRISE 2,448,777

mssAsme APPARATUS Filed Jan. 19, 1944 Patented Sept. 7, 1948 UNLITT ED Parent orFicE] This invention relates to'improvementszin massaging apparatus, and, more particularly; tomas-- saging apparatus of" the mechanical'- or: motor driven type'.

The objectof' my invention is: to provide an.

improved means for mechanically manipulating ormassaging-the humanbody f'or the purpose-of promoting: health and removing excess-fat:

Such equipment in thepasthas'been limited largel'yit'o devices suitable for operation by. experts,

and. them. restricted mostly to small operating" surfaces; Withltlie present-invention, the weight of theipatientzi's :utilized toregulate t-h'epressure of massagezapplication. whileitheapatientris lying. insazfully relaxed: position and, if? desired; ele'c trically'generated heataisaapplied"to thezpoints of contact bynaturalrradiatiorr-andccnvection-of an enclosed, heating elements disposed: beneath: the contact surface.

More; specifically; my improved device comprises a relatively narrow and elongated bed composed of a plurality-of movably mounted longitudinal: slats,v together withmotor driven means for alternately raising and loweringsaidslats to" provide an oscillating bed on which the patient is placed in a; reclining position; the oscillating movement of the slats beingutilized to securesthei desired.v massaging action. Thezaction produced by my massaging apparatusis-tdheat and knead simultaneously the flesh, thereby loosening. and driving the. fatty deposits into. the circulation from.which.the same maybe eliminatedby normal' action.

For a further understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a massaging machine formed in accordance with the present invention, parts of the machine being broken away and shown in section to disclose underlying structure;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken therethrough;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken through the secured ends of the massaging slats.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral I I) designates the substantially rectangular frame of my improved massaging apparatus. Arranged in a horizontal plane at the top of the frame, and extending substantially the full length of the latter is a massaging bed, indicated generally at II, on which the patient reclines in a prone position. The bed is composed of a plurality of parallel, longitudinally extending slats OFbSLIS' I2 whichimay'beiformedl from wood; or

any: otherrsuitabl-emateriaL. capable .of: flexingz'to a. limited: extenttin: a..longitudinal direction. The

frame It atcth'eafoot' thereof; .is provided: with a stationary). transversely extending supporting:

member: ti; on: which: the. adjacent: ends. of, the: slats;- I2; are"v mounted. and; firmly secured. asby meanszoffconntersunlc'screws. Ma. Likewise; the

head:- endiof; the'frama Iil'iis: formedwith: an head 1Q support. I5: on which: thez -adiacent' ends of the.

slats; liratemeceived; and .suitablysecurediasratx l6;

Approximately"midway; of; their: lengths; the

under SidBSROf .thezslats; I2 areaprovided with-depending: cleats? I't'h. These. cleats. may be; formed lfirfrom'y any suitable. wear resistin'g materials; and the; cleatsi of. immediate; adjacent slats: are; reia tively; offset drastaggered with: respect to; each other, as disclosed in Fig. 2;. lniorder to-r alternately arch or vertically flex the slats so that one diatelyr contiau or;- unfiexedv con bearings; fonthe. reception, of: a, rock. shaft: I8;

-Fixed.to=the'-.shaft=for rockinggmoti on inv unison thcrewith isfa plurality of longitudinally, spaced" rocker members I9, the outer ends of,.which;haveengagement with the under-surfaces of the-cleats I I. The .rocksshaftalsohas dependingtherefrom 30. a crank arm- 2.0; the lower end. of-v whichis: pivotally. united astat. 2=I w-i-thai pitmandink' 22, the

othere encLcfsaid link. being pivoted as-at 23in.

an off center position on the side of a worm gear 24, said gear meshing with a worm 25 driven by the shaft of an electric motor 26, the latter being suitably supported as at 21 within the confines of the frame It! beneath the bed II.

In the operation of the apparatus, it will be seen that when the motor is energized to rotate the gearing 24 and 25, oscillatory motion will be imparted to the rock shaft I8 and the rocker arms I9 carried thereby. These arms lift and lower alternate slats, producing longitudinal archin or flexure of the lifted slats, so that the movement thereof may be applied effectively to the body of a patient reclining on the bed, and without requiring manual effort or producing fatigue on the part of the patient. The forward ends of the slats I2 may be held in connection with the sup- 60 ports I5 to allow for limited longitudinal movement of the slats while the same are being flexed, thereby reducing strain on the slats.

It is also desirable to provide the frame beneath the bed I I with a heating means, so that the body of the patient may be heated to facilitate the 3 massaging action and to obtain more quickly and effectively beneflcial results. Such a heating means may take the form of an electric resistor of the type shown at 28, to which current, obtained from a house circuit, may be supplied, as at 29.

In the conductors leading to the resistor, there may be provided a control switch 39 and a rheostat 3! for governing the amount of heat developed by the resistor and regulate the same in accordance with the requirements of the patient. The movement of the slats in flexing is comparatively limited so that there is no likelihood of the patient being pinched by the flexing action of said slats. However, if desired, a flexiblecovering of rubber, fabric or the like may be placed over the upper surfaces of the slats to conceal the latter.

Among the advantages of my improved heated massage bed over previous devices and methods, may be enumerated the following:

The patient can be treated while fully relaxed, thereby avoiding the strain produced on the heart by methods and devices involving various forms of exercise; the bed acts simultaneously on a large area of the body, producing rapid results; heat is applied evenly over the entire area of the body in contact with the moving slats; all parts of the body in contact with the moving slats have a complete cycle of positive pressure and release of pressure, preventing possible restrictions in circulation; the kneading action of the narrow slats under the well-distributed weight of the patient is restricted to the surface of the body where undesirable fat deposits usually exist, and the action does not produce strains on internal body organs; further, the device is entirely safe for home use and does not require the services of an expert attendent.

I claim:

1. Massage apparatus comprising an elongated frame, a horizontal bed provided at the top of said frame composed of a plurality of parallel longitudinally extending relatively flexible slats, means for supporting said slats at their ends in connection with said frame, and means engaging the under sides of said slats for flexing the same longitudinally.

2. Massage apparatus comprising an elongated frame, a horizontal bed provided at the top of said frame composed of a pluralityof parallel longitudinally extending relatively flexible slats, means for supporting said slats at their ends in connection with said frame, and means engaging the under sides of said slats for effecting longitudinal flexing in vertical planes of alternately disposed slats.

3. Massaging apparatus comprising an elongated frame, a substantially horizontal patientsupporting bed extending longitudinally of said frame, said bed being composed of a plurality of parallel longitudinally extending flexible slat members, means for supporting said slat members at their ends in connection with said frame, a transversely disposed support placed intermediately of the length of said frame beneath said slat members, rocker arms carried by said transverse support engageable with the under surfaces of said slat members, and motor driven means for imparting oscillating movement to said rocker arms, whereby to cause the latter to alternately flex said members longitudinally of the length thereof.

4. Body-massaging and exercising apparatus,

comprising an elongated frame, a substantially horizontal bed provided at the top of said frame for the reception of a patient lying thereon in a prostrate position, said bed being composed of a plurality of parallel longitudinally extending flexible slat members, means for supporting said members at their ends in connection with said frame in a manner to admit of longitudinal flexing of each of said members independently of adjacent members, each of said slat members at one of its ends being immovably fastened to said frame and at its opposite end secured for limited sliding movement on said frame, and motordriven means carried by said frame and disposed for engagement with the under part of each of said slat members intermediately of the length thereof to alternately flex said members longitudinally of the length thereof.

GEORGE W. CRISE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record'in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,173,306 Pool Feb. 29, 1916 1,276,526 Hardy et a1 Aug. 20, 1918 1,638,025 Everts Aug. 9, 1927 1,87 ,286 Gross Aug. 30, 1932 1,999,956 Chiles et a1 Apr. 30, 1935 

